Wales get Six Nations boost and French experts pick out best Welsh player
Cardiff head coach Matt Sherratt says Taulupe Faletau is ready to take part in Wales’ Six Nations campaign. The back-row forward broke his arm in the World Cup win over Georgia, ending his tournament in the group stage. Faletau had been a colossal player for Wales up to this point and Warren Gatland may have been concerned that the No. 8 would not be fit for next year’s Six Nations.
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Luckily for Wales and Cardiff, the 32-year-old looks set to be back on the pitch in the new year. The injury was predicted to last 12 to 14 weeks and there is no change to that: he will not be back any sooner, Sherratt said. He will return after the time needed to recover, [and] we look forward to the new year. Wales and Cardiff striker Josh Adams is expected to return from a shoulder injury in December.
French rugby experts pick out Wales’ best player
French club Midi Olympique have selected their squad for the Rugby World Cup and included a Welshman in their XV.
As expected. The squad is dominated by players from the two finalists – South Africa and New Zealand. A total of five Springboks and five All Blacks were selected, while the publication only picked two players from their country’s squad: hooker Piato Mauwaka and defender Thomas Ramos. There is no place for French skipper Antoine Dupont.
England’s Owen Farrell, Ireland’s Bundy Aki and Wales captain Jack Morgan are the final three players to be named in the team of the tournament. XV World Championship Midi Olympique: Thomas Ramos; Will Jordan, Jesse Kriel, Bandi Aki, Mark Telea; Owen Farrell, Aaron Smith; Ox Nche, Piato Mauwaka, France Malherbe, Eben Etzebeth, Scott Barrett, Jacques Morgan, Pieter-Steph du Toit, Ardie Savea.
Sam Cane banned after RWC final red
New Zealand captain Sam Cane has been suspended for three matches for his red card in the Rugby World Cup final. The flanker became the first player to receive a red card in the final after his shoulder tackle touched the head of South African player Jesse Creel. A yellow card was initially waved, but after a few minutes the bunker replaced it with a red one.
At the hearing, Kane said he did not believe his foul play merited a red card, but the panel concluded the tackle was reckless and involved a high degree of danger.
A six-week sanction was initially imposed, which was reduced to three weeks due to Kane’s disciplinary record and the remorse he had shown. He will miss two matches for Tokyo Sangoliat, who have just been signed by Wales midfielder Gareth Anscombe, and a third game will be canceled if he goes to tackle school.
Warren Gatland namechecks emerging Welsh rugby players he wants to see more of
Last week the Wales manager mentioned several players who are not currently part of his squad. Being tested by Warren Gatland at a press conference is not an exact science. This can often seem a little random, but it probably makes more sense than it seems.
The question may be asked about one player and the Wales manager may choose to focus on another. And sometimes he just chooses a name to praise without any prompting. For example, when asked about Leigh Halfpenny’s performance against Australia in 2018, Gatland went off topic somewhat before declaring Josh Adams his man of the match, praising the then-inexperienced wingers.
If he wants a name to go public, he will find a way – no matter the question asked. With that in mind, around the week of the clash with the Barbarians there were a number of players who didn’t point out that Gatland had still managed to find time to talk.
First to receive a mention despite not being in the squad was uncapped Cardiff player Will Davies-King, with Gatland discussing him when asked about the decision to call up tight ends Lloyd Fairbrother and Harry O’Connor following injuries to Keiron Assiratti and Leon Brown.
“We’ve talked about someone like Will Davies-King before and we’ve invested a bit of time in him and we want to see him develop, but unfortunately he doesn’t have a lot of opportunities at the moment, Gatland said. And while we have used the national team in the past to develop players for the future, we just felt it was the wrong decision for this game.”
Looking Ahead to the Six Nations
While Fairbrother featured in the Dragons’ first two games and O’Connor featured in one of the Scarlets’ matches in South Africa, Davies-King did not feature in either of Cardiff’s first games.
Of course, the sample size is small – just two matches – and having seen Cardiff’s tough Asiratti pull out with an injury this week, perhaps Gatland was reluctant to return to the Arms Park side and take another anchor away from them before the match. their derby with the Scarlets.
Davies-King will come off the bench in Llanelli at the weekend for his first start of the season. Having been part of Wales’ wider World Cup training squad before being released with a foot injury in June, it is clear the mention means he is still part of Gatland’s thinking.
Perhaps saying there won’t be many opportunities (given there haven’t been many in the third week of the season) is a deliberate attempt to get Davies-King to play more ahead of the Six Nations.
Having spent a lot of time in camp over the summer, Gatland may want players who know the Six Nations environment – given that it is doubtful that all three World Cup standouts are currently based outside Wales. If that’s the case, then Davis-King and Assiratti are firmly on the list.
All the other players whose names Gatland checked are midfielders. Speaking about trying out scrum-half Tomos Williams in the position, he highlighted the need for more options before moving on to list three potential candidates. Not a lot of detail is offered and the list far from exhaustive, but it is an interesting read nonetheless.
A Glimpse of Hope for the 2024 Six Nations
“I think Callum Sheedy is playing good rugby again at Bristol, Gatland said. It’s good to see him picked and I’ll go watch him at some point. And then I’ll see how some of the other ten players go. Will Reed and I’d like to see Ben Thomas play some games in Game 10 as well.”
It’s been a tough couple of years for the Bristol midfielder since Sheedy. Sheedy’s last of 16 appearances came as a substitute in the 2022 Six Nations defeat to Italy. Later that day, he discovered that his father had stage four bowel cancer. He recently spoke candidly about how he is coping with the passing of his father. Six Nations 2024 fans can book Wales Vs Scotland Tickets on our website at exclusively discounted prices.
Following the defeat to Italy, Sheedy, who played a role in Wales’ Six Nations victory in 2021, has left out of four squads in a row. But clearly Gatland’s comments suggest he is on the radar ahead of the Six Nations 2024.
Competing for a Spot in the Six Nations
The day after that test, Sheedy showed what he could do – assisting Rich Lane in each of his three tries against Exeter with a series of assists. As for the other names mentioned by Gatland, it is interesting to see that they are both in Gatland’s thoughts.
Uncapped Dragons midfielder Reed has made just 18 professional appearances before this season, with the Dragons wary of throwing the 22-year-old into the squad too soon.
With Sam Davis and JJ Hanrahan gone, he will now take to the field to battle Angus O’Brien for the No. 10 jersey at Rodney Parade. After coming on as a substitute in the first two matches, he played the full 80 minutes against Munster at the weekend. Reid’s leadership qualities impressed Dragons coach Dai Flanagan last season, although Flanagan hinted O’Brien would be a contender for Wales’ Six Nations squad.
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